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2013 Bentley Continental GT Speed set for Goodwood debut

June 18, 2012

The 2013 Bentley Continental GT Speed will make 616 hp from a twin-turbo W12. Photo by Bentley

Bentley is unleashing its fastest production model, the Continental GT Speed, on June 29 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The car can be ordered now and is expected to begin arriving in October as a 2013 model.

The flagship model will pump out a whopping 616 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque from a twin-turbo 6.0-liter W12 powerplant, allowing for a top speed of 205 mph. Bentley claims a 0-to-60-mph sprint is possible in 4.0 seconds. Power is transferred via an eight-speed ZF automatic and permanent all-wheel drive.

The suspension is lowered and stiffened, and it rolls on 21-inch wheels wrapped in Pirelli rubber. The looks are punctuated with a matrix-style grille and different exhaust pipes. The cabin is trimmed in Bentley's Mulliner Specification as standard.

The “Speed” moniker was first worn on a Bentley in 1923.

Five-time Le Mans champion Derek Bell will be among the drivers who pilot a preproduction GT Speed up the hill at Goodwood at the end of the month.

“The new GT Speed, with its harder-edged, sportier character, reaffirms this pinnacle positioning and continues to broaden the worldwide appeal of the Continental coupe,” Wolfgang Dürheimer, Bentley's chief executive, said in a statement.

The GT Speed is expected to build on Bentley's momentum, as sales have risen 46.6 percent in the first quarter of the year to 1,759 units. That's been helped by a surge in demand from China, where sales shot up nearly 84.9 percent to 578 cars.